The Fiji Muslim soccer side made the prefect start in the 2008 FANCA World Cup in Australia last night when they outclassed host nation and favorites Australia 2-0 in the feature match of day one at the Marconi Oval in Sydney.

The Kamal Hassan captained side proved out to be the fitter and more physical side in the encounter as the hosts were unable to find the back of the net in the entire 60 minutes despite applying pressure on the Fijian goalmouth in the second spell.

Australia with the likes of Ali Cem Akbal, Tolgay Ozbey, Arif Azam Khan, Esala Ali and Shameer Ali were kept at bay by the hardworking Fijians.

Hassan opened Fiji’s account in the match while rugged Navua defender Siga Ali scored the second just before halftime to give the South Seas Islanders a commanding lead at halftime.

Navua goalkeeper Sheik Moshin was the man of the match as he played brilliantly between the sticks and denied the Australian attack any chance keeping a clean sheet in the match.

The Tokotoko native was drafted in the Fiji squad and given the chance after Fiji U20 goalie Wasim Ali opted to feature for Australia in the tournament.

Ali however did not feature for the Aussies as there were arguments with relation to his registration and eligibility but after a meeting last night, the organizers have cleared the former Nasinu Muslim College student to feature for Australia in its remaining matches of the tournament.

Defending champions New Zealand also made a strong start to its defence campaign and piped America 1-0 in the opening match of the tournament.

In the Veterans category, Fiji beat America 2-0 while Australia also registered a 2-0 win over Canada.

Today’s fixtures: 2.50pm- New Zealand vs Fiji (U21), 4.10pm- Australia vs America (Veterans), 5.20pm- Australia vs Canada (U21), 6.40pm- Fiji vs New Zealand (Veterans), 7.45pm- Canada vs America, 9pm- Australia vs New Zealand.

Fijilive

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